The United Nations

The United Nations (UN) represents every nation in the world. It has a neutrality, legitimacy and credibility which other development organisations cannot match.

Its three pillars of security, development and human rights mean that the UN system has the potential to deploy a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding, development and humanitarian situations.

The UN carries out its work through a number of individual UN agencies, funds and programmes. These include the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and many more. A full list is detailed in the UN organogram.

How we work with the UN

DFID works with individual UN agencies, funds and programmes where it is judged that they can make a value for money contribution to development. We provide core funding to each of these agencies to help them to deliver their services.

We also provide additional funding, on the basis of need, in specific humanitarian situations 

We work closely with UK Missions to the UN in New York, Geneva and other UN headquarters locations.

DFID also works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other government departments that have an interest in the UN such as the Department of Health and Department for Environment and Rural Affairs.

Millions of people helped

The UN's work impacts on the lives of millions of the world's poorest people. Examples of the kind of the results that UN organisations have achieved include:

• UNICEF distributed more than 600 million vitamin A capsules in 2010 to benefit an estimated 293 million children, helping to reduce the number of malnourished children, boosting their immune system and warding off blindness
• Following the launch of the WHO strategy for tuberculosis control in 1995, 41 million people have been successfully treated and up to 6 million lives have been saved
• WFP provided food assistance to over 109 million vulnerable people, including 89 million women and children, in 75 countries in 2010
• UNHCR provided support to 34 million refugees, internally displaced and stateless people in 125 countries during 2010.

As well as its role at a country level, the UN has an important convening role. For example, in 2000, the UN hosted the Millennium Summit, the outcome of which was the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 

The UN's specialised agencies co-ordinate international action – for example, WHO on the international effort to eradicate polio, UNESCO's global tsunami monitoring system and FAO on the successful eradication of rinderpest.